The Rams are going to have trouble stopping Portis on Sunday. They are allowing 166 rushing yards a game and 4.7 yards per run, and opponents have rushed for seven touchdowns against them. Defensive tackles Adam Carriker (8 tackles) and Clifton Ryan (6 tackles) have not been very good this season, and it will only get worse against Washington's tough interior line. Rams linebacker Will Witherspoon (23 tackles, 1 sack) was limited in practice earlier in the week because of a shoulder injury sustained in the Buffalo game. Witherspoon and fellow linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa (20 tackles) must keep an eye on Cooley across the middle and Portis coming out of the backfield.

FANTASY FOCUS

Campbell has been playing efficient football this season, but hasn't lit up the scoreboard with an astronomical passing performance. Under the West Coast offense, quarterbacks rarely go downfield and substitute runs with short passes and screens. Campbell has been doing that very well so far in 2008 and has two fantasy-worthy targets in Moss and Cooley. Moss was held in check last week in Philadelphia, but should get back on track this week against an overmatched St. Louis team. Cooley finally reached the end zone last Sunday and always plays a big role on offense, whether it's blocking, running or catching. One of the biggest fantasy stars this season has been Portis, who will most likely hit the century mark again in rushing, especially in front of his home crowd. An 0-4 team like the Rams rarely has any fantasy players worth mentioning, but Jackson is the best way to go. He is a workhorse and has thrived under new coordinator Saunders' scheme. Holt is starting to diminish in value, while Bulger has been very streaky. Bulger is worth starting this week, however, because it seems he has something to prove to Linehan and his teammates.

OVERALL ANALYSIS

Zorn's team has temporarily taken the NFC East by storm and will continue do so this week to keep pace with division powerhouses Dallas and New York. Many thought at the beginning of the season that Campbell would have trouble picking up the offense, being that he has gone through so many systems in just a short period time at the NFL level. Campbell, though, has performed wonderfully so far with his efficient passing, timely scrambles and ability to thread the ball in traffic. He has only Zorn to thank for resurrecting his career with the new scheme. It also doesn't hurt to have a running back of Portis' caliber behind him to take the pressure off. Portis ran for a season- high 145 yards against a stingy Philadelphia defense last Sunday, so this week should be even better with the winless Rams in town searching for their first win of the season. Washington's defense has been somewhat banged up the past few weeks, but it won't play a huge factor in the game. Jackson will get his fair share of stats against the Redskins, but it won't be enough to give Haslett his first win as head coach.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Redskins 27, Rams 16

Join the discussion

Note: If this is your first time using our NEW commenting system, you will have to LOG OUT and then LOG BACK IN.

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

     Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first

@Nyx.AuthorDisplayName@ wrote on @Nyx.PostedAtTime@:

@Nyx.CommentBody@

@Nyx.Recommender@ @Nyx.AbuseReporter@